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Similar practices happen, but the degree in which they happen varies, there's a reason top players flock to Cal and it isn't necessarily his personality. All college players are taken care of in one way or another, Coach Cal makes sure you get the best, the very best.

Ethics? We're talking about multi-million dollar coaches in a billion dollar industry that are accountable for the product they put on the floor to their massive fan bases, not to mention their rabid boosters.

UK has the fanbase, stadium, history, and great coach with a great track record to give them the edge with many of the top recruits that schools like Duke, UNC, KU, etc. are actively pursuing.

Not to mention Calipari really knows how to talk to people.

Don't hate the guy because he is that good, I guarantee that similar practices go on at most of the other schools.
I can only imagine what Boeheim is telling MCW to tell Nerlens Noel.

You couldn't be further from the truth about your perception of Duke, UNC, and KU, and just wow at how you're describing UK. It's like you ignored actual history and repeated what $#@! Vitale told you to say. I don't have time right now, but I'll try to explain some of those reasons later. Your $#@!... it's all $#@!ed up in this post.

So what ever happened to graduation rates and punishments? It seems it was a big deal some years ago with teams being punished for low graduation rates, and arguments that it was unfair for schools that had players leave early for the pros. With the Kentucky model, it seems they would never graduate anyone, or maybe one or two bench guys every four years. Will that catch up to them, or have they changed that rule?

I'm not saying Calipari is clean or always has been, but what exactly do people think he's doing? Is he paying players? Buying them cars, etc?

My personal opinion is that the "one and done" college basketball world is perfect for him. Do players come to Kentucky for $50,000 from a booster? Or do they come because they know he's the guy to play for if you want to be making millions within 12 months of signing with him. If I was advising a 5-star talent who wanted to be a one and done college player, I would tell them to play for Cal. So would Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evens, Demarcus Cousins, John Wall, Brandon Knight, MKG, Anthony Davis, (all have or will be drafted in top 5 of last 5 NBA drafts). Wouldn't you if your ONE GOAL was to be in the NBA in one year?

If they go to UK and play for Cal, they know they will i) play right away as there are few talented upperclassmen, ii) will develop as the season goes on because he's actually a damn good coach, iii) be showcased at a premier program and on TV all the time, and iv) win a lot of games in a fun system playing for a "players coach." And 12 months later, you'll be making millions in the NBA.

When every top recruit (and their advisors) knows the above, why would he need to cheat? Go to UNC, Duke, etc. and you may get stuck behind some older talent. Go to some other school because they pay you a little or buy you car, and you may not be developed or showcased in the right manner and cost yourself millions in the draft.

If you're trying to get money from him, what leverage do you have? Why ask for a little (comparitively), when risking a lot? His system will get you more money in a legit manner than you are asking for illegitimately.

The one and done rule was made for a guy like Cal, and he embraces it. He embraces "greedy" players who want to go to the NBA right away. He embraces greedy handlers who want to get their guys to the NBA right away. Doesn't mean he cheats to do so. If basketball had the same rules as college football or baseball, I think he'd be cheating his ass off. But I don't think he has to in the current system.

He uses the players and they use him.

Lots of truth here. He may have needed to be dirty at UMass and Memphis, teams in mid-major conferences surrounded by higher profile programs, but he's at $#@!ing Kentucky now, a blue blood powerhouse. In addition to that, the speech you're quoting is all he really needs. As far as cash, these guys take out insurance policies on themselves in case of injury. I'm quite certain there is a bank somewhere willing to do short term loans for cars. "Hi, I'm Anthony Davis. You know me from TV. I am six months away from a multi-million dollar contract and a signing bonus worth 100 times the value of the most expensive vehicle in this building. How bout you sell me that Escalade [no racist] on a one year note. You can attach my insurance policy as security." It's a no brainer from a business standpoint. I don't think even the NCAA could argue special benefits when any business owner would agree to that deal.

It's not the NCAA's rule, it's part of the collective bargaining agreement in the NBA. The NCAA is powerless to do $#@! about it...

Originally Posted by tbone

This. The rule from the NBA is that you have to be at least one year out of High School to go into the draft. So guys go to college for a year.

If the NCAA really wanted to do something, they'd make a rule that says if you accept a scolly you have to stick around for at least 3 years or something. But they wont, because they're whores to players like Anthony Davis - even for only 1 year.

Originally Posted by ilovetexasfootball

I thought it was the NBA that changed the rule from 3 years required to 1 and done?

Yes. When I came back to my post, I realized I wrote the $#@! all wrong... the league f'd the nba... and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Who has ever gone one and done at Duke? Nobody, until this year.

As for the NCAA requiring a player to stick around for 3 years on a scholly, wouldn't that also require the school to keep a kid on scholly for 3 years? right now, scholarships are 1 year...

It's funny, the OP doesn't want to do what Cal does, but we're getting close at Texas. Our best players are here for 2 years or less.... TJ, DJ, TT, Durant, DGibson, LA, Corey Joseph... Without those guys, what has Rick accomplished?

You couldn't be further from the truth about your perception of Duke, UNC, and KU, and just wow at how you're describing UK. It's like you ignored actual history and repeated what $#@! Vitale told you to say. I don't have time right now, but I'll try to explain some of those reasons later. Your $#@!... it's all $#@!ed up in this post.

so Kentucky doesn't have the facilities, fanbase, stadium and history to compare to those schools? is that what you are saying?

This. The rule from the NBA is that you have to be at least one year out of High School to go into the draft. So guys go to college for a year.

If the NCAA really wanted to do something, they'd make a rule that says if you accept a scolly you have to stick around for at least 3 years or something. But they wont, because they're whores to players like Anthony Davis - even for only 1 year.

I don't see any way the NCAA could possibly enforce this. If this were in place and Anthony Davis declared for the draft, what could they do about it?

Yes. When I came back to my post, I realized I wrote the $#@! all wrong... the league f'd the nba... and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Who has ever gone one and done at Duke? Nobody, until this year.

As for the NCAA requiring a player to stick around for 3 years on a scholly, wouldn't that also require the school to keep a kid on scholly for 3 years? right now, scholarships are 1 year...

It's funny, the OP doesn't want to do what Cal does, but we're getting close at Texas. Our best players are here for 2 years or less.... TJ, DJ, TT, Durant, DGibson, LA, Corey Joseph... Without those guys, what has Rick accomplished?

Which is why Texas doesn't truly care about winning a NCAA Bball championship. Neither does OU, for that matter.

OU would definitely hire a guy like Calipari. Don't sell yourselves short. Stoops is the cleanest football coach you guys have ever had. Guys like Switzer are Calipari's football equivalent. Even in basketball, Sampson was no prince, although he was Mother Theresa compared to Calipari.

Texas has not shown the propensity to hire $#@!bags for the sake of winning, in any sport. OU has a long history of it.

Ethics? We're talking about multi-million dollar coaches in a billion dollar industry that are accountable for the product they put on the floor to their massive fan bases, not to mention their rabid boosters.

UK has the fanbase, stadium, history, and great coach with a great track record to give them the edge with many of the top recruits that schools like Duke, UNC, KU, etc. are actively pursuing.

Not to mention Calipari really knows how to talk to people.

Don't hate the guy because he is that good, I guarantee that similar practices go on at most of the other schools.
I can only imagine what Boeheim is telling MCW to tell Nerlens Noel.

Originally Posted by bularry

so Kentucky doesn't have the facilities, fanbase, stadium and history to compare to those schools? is that what you are saying?

Not at all....kinda. On the surface, UK has it all and then some.

Kentucky has those (haven't confirmed myself, but I'm sure they are) gorgeous facilities... named After Adolph Rupp.... the notorious racist responsible for allowing a symbolic lynching in his arena and letting it remain for the black players of the visiting team to see..... it's a large part of their history......which is the story of a program that cheated its way to their record wins and 8 titles so hard it made UCLA, John Wooden, and Poppa Sam blush....a team that almost got the ol' SMU from the NCAA for allegedly killing wayyyyy more than 5 hookers.... and their awesome fanbase is a perfect reflection of that class and pride in winning the right way, as evidenced by the reaction after the wins over Louisville and Kansas [if those were big wins, I'm glad they didn't lose and get to see a bad loss]

Calipari knows how to talk to people. He's very slick. There are some other coaches out there who really know how to talk to people, like Roy, K, Izzo, Self. But they don't rely on THE World Wide We$ley as a right hand man to hold a kid's hand from the AAU circuit to stop off in Lexington to smile for the cameras for a year, then afterward go sign a piece of paper to make the hand-holding official and long-term, right on to the NBA Draft, and finally some ice cream to cap off the night.

That's why I hate him. Not because "he's good." I've got a coach who's maintained success at two blue bloods winning at the highest % currently in the game - six Elite 8s in 9 seasons at UNC and 2 NCAA Titles - the 2009 team being statistically the most dominant in memory. Yet that HOF coach has a guy in his backyard who looks like he could be the heir apparent to that record-breaking 09 title team - the perfect fit for a glaring hole in the team the next season, BUT he has "Diploma Mill" and "AAU Package, Thi$ $ide up!" written all over him. And that is the short story of John Wall not coming to UNC and another story of a recruiting relationship terminated by Roy Williams because he doesn't believe in "similar practices" just because he's at one of the "other schools." Wall ended up hand delivered by Brian Clifton over to that "great coach" Calipari, who had been to twoone zero Final Fours in setting that great track record*.

My point is, your guarantee that similar practices go on at "most of the other schools" is horse$#@!. It's an insult to Tom Izzo, Coach K, Roy Williams, Tom Crean. I'm simply amazed how easily CBS and ESPN have glossed over Calipari's sketchy past and recast him into this coaching star on the rise who has changed the game by winning with star freshmen and revolutionizing "getting talent to play together." Coaches are slammed routinely for "only" winning with talent, yet Cal's narrative is more "aww-shucksy" than Roy Williams could ever dream. Could Cal have been more hackneyed about "the kids?" Sorry, there's just too much stain on Calipari at every stop, especially now he's at UK, for me to buy into this like $#@! Vitale. Calling Calipari "something special" and a"guy who just cares" about a dozen times in one soundbite.

Here, I posted this before. It's an "opinion" piece on NCAA.org, which means it's the NCAA's official position. It is claimed the NCAA is the NBA's whipping boy, and the NCAA is ready to prove they don't need all that talent to make college basketball popular!

By: John Calipari
University of Kentucky
Tags: featured, national champions, NBA

Big Blue Nation, breathe. Relax. Calm down. Enjoy the championship.

I just talked to Mike DeCourcy and Andy Katz and they asked me if I was going to jump to the NBA. What?! We just won the championship a day and a half ago. The only three things I’m trying to decide on is when I’m going to go see a few recruits, how I’m going to get through all these voicemails and when do I get a chance to get some sleep.

But for those of you that need to hear it again, let me repeat what I told Andy and Mike: I’m not going anywhere. I have the best job in the country. Why would I leave after we’ve just won a national title? We’re trying to catch UCLA, folks. I’ve got more money than I’m ever going to need or my family can spend, so I don’t have to make a decision based on finances.

Let me assure you that you will see me at NBA games this summer … to watch our former players. I’m not going to give up my lifestyle based on a few rumors, and I will continue to go to NBA games to see my family, friends and former players. I’m even going to a game tonight.

But relax, Big Blue Nation. Sit back and enjoy this special time. We’ve waited 14 years for this, so let’s not let anyone ruin this for us. No one’s stealing my joy or my players’ joy. Don’t let them steal yours.

So what ever happened to graduation rates and punishments? It seems it was a big deal some years ago with teams being punished for low graduation rates, and arguments that it was unfair for schools that had players leave early for the pros. With the Kentucky model, it seems they would never graduate anyone, or maybe one or two bench guys every four years. Will that catch up to them, or have they changed that rule?

The NCAA adjusted this standard to calculate each team's Academic Progress Rate (APR) instead of graduation rate. It specifies that if players leave the school in good academic standing (transfers or NBA hopefuls), that does not count against your APR. That implies the one-and-dones need to finish their spring semester work to remain in good standing, but I'm sure most schools can make sure this happens without too much effort from the players.

Ethics? We're talking about multi-million dollar coaches in a billion dollar industry that are accountable for the product they put on the floor to their massive fan bases, not to mention their rabid boosters.

UK has the fanbase, stadium, history, and great coach with a great track record to give them the edge with many of the top recruits that schools like Duke, UNC, KU, etc. are actively pursuing.

Not to mention Calipari really knows how to talk to people.

Don't hate the guy because he is that good, I guarantee that similar practices go on at most of the other schools.
I can only imagine what Boeheim is telling MCW to tell Nerlens Noel.

I don't hate the guy b/c he's good. I hate the guy (to the extent that I can hate anyone that I don't know and isn't a homicidal maniac) b/c he appears to have zero integrity.

I would quit watching/rooting for Texas hoops the second he got hired, and I'm about as hard core a texas hoops fan as there is.

Integrity is every bit as important to me as winning. I see Calhoun or Calipari win and I"m not jealous. Some folks win with integrity (coach K's, bob knights- though he's a $#@!- Dean Smith, Roy Williams- I think Bill Self) and I'm jealous of them. As the slime takes over though, more and more I'm just happy for anyone who seems to run a clean program to win- be it Duke, Carolina whoever. I hate that the last 4 major titles have been won by Satan err Saban, a bought and paid for Cam Newton, Calipari and Calhoun. That's a disturbing trend for people who value integrity in the NCAA.

Without those ideals it's just minor league sports, and I'm not a minor league sport kind of guy.

Why b/c I'd rather have pretty good with integrity than pinacle of profession with no integrity?

Root for the NBA if you want to watch paid pros. I do watch the NBA also, so I'm not bagging on them. College shouldn't be minor leagues for the NBA- not when about 15 or 20 guys a year make it (some years way less depending on euro's etc).

Yes. When I came back to my post, I realized I wrote the $#@! all wrong... the league f'd the nba... and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Who has ever gone one and done at Duke? Nobody, until this year.

As for the NCAA requiring a player to stick around for 3 years on a scholly, wouldn't that also require the school to keep a kid on scholly for 3 years? right now, scholarships are 1 year...

It's funny, the OP doesn't want to do what Cal does, but we're getting close at Texas. Our best players are here for 2 years or less.... TJ, DJ, TT, Durant, DGibson, LA, Corey Joseph... Without those guys, what has Rick accomplished?

I'm not talking about 1 and done, I'm taling about $#@! head s$#@! bag factor.

I've never seen or heard a whiff that Durant was bought and paid for, as a for example.

Kentucky has those (haven't confirmed myself, but I'm sure they are) gorgeous facilities... named After Adolph Rupp.... the notorious racist responsible for allowing a symbolic lynching in his arena and letting it remain for the black players of the visiting team to see..... it's a large part of their history......which is the story of a program that cheated its way to their record wins and 8 titles so hard it made UCLA, John Wooden, and Poppa Sam blush....a team that almost got the ol' SMU from the NCAA for allegedly killing wayyyyy more than 5 hookers.... and their awesome fanbase is a perfect reflection of that class and pride in winning the right way, as evidenced by the reaction after the wins over Louisville and Kansas [if those were big wins, I'm glad they didn't lose and get to see a bad loss]

Calipari knows how to talk to people. He's very slick. There are some other coaches out there who really know how to talk to people, like Roy, K, Izzo, Self. But they don't rely on THE World Wide We$ley as a right hand man to hold a kid's hand from the AAU circuit to stop off in Lexington to smile for the cameras for a year, then afterward go sign a piece of paper to make the hand-holding official and long-term, right on to the NBA Draft, and finally some ice cream to cap off the night.

That's why I hate him. Not because "he's good." I've got a coach who's maintained success at two blue bloods winning at the highest % currently in the game - six Elite 8s in 9 seasons at UNC and 2 NCAA Titles - the 2009 team being statistically the most dominant in memory. Yet that HOF coach has a guy in his backyard who looks like he could be the heir apparent to that record-breaking 09 title team - the perfect fit for a glaring hole in the team the next season, BUT he has "Diploma Mill" and "AAU Package, Thi$ $ide up!" written all over him. And that is the short story of John Wall not coming to UNC and another story of a recruiting relationship terminated by Roy Williams because he doesn't believe in "similar practices" just because he's at one of the "other schools." Wall ended up hand delivered by Brian Clifton over to that "great coach" Calipari, who had been to twoone zero Final Fours in setting that great track record*.

My point is, your guarantee that similar practices go on at "most of the other schools" is horse$#@!. It's an insult to Tom Izzo, Coach K, Roy Williams, Tom Crean. I'm simply amazed how easily CBS and ESPN have glossed over Calipari's sketchy past and recast him into this coaching star on the rise who has changed the game by winning with star freshmen and revolutionizing "getting talent to play together." Coaches are slammed routinely for "only" winning with talent, yet Cal's narrative is more "aww-shucksy" than Roy Williams could ever dream. Could Cal have been more hackneyed about "the kids?" Sorry, there's just too much stain on Calipari at every stop, especially now he's at UK, for me to buy into this like $#@! Vitale. Calling Calipari "something special" and a"guy who just cares" about a dozen times in one soundbite.

And what cracks me up is that Cal, like that $#@!head Nick Saban that some fawn over- took a crack at winnin in the highest league and $#@!ing failed. They are playing a rigged game in the NCAA and just b/c they are willing to bend/obliterate the rules doesn't mean that I have to like it) $#@! them both in the $#@!ing ear, and $#@! fans who are so lacking in integrity that they allow them to get away with their $#@!.

OK, Calipari wins the title and is now "the model"… it's more like, after having 24 NBA talent athlete's that have played for him over the last 20 years he FINALLY won…

and in about 5 years we all could be blown away at the fact that he very well could have 3 VERY good nba players on one team(Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, Jones or Lamb)..

and keep in mind an dthis is just my opinion, but i think college ball was weak all the way around.. No Way this Kansas team ever beats previous years kansas teams EVER.. UNC had 2 injuries that honestly would have put them in the title game and it would have been way more competitive.. a healthy UNC team has all the tools to be UK..

i'll go with facts.. Fact is that Cal has been trying this model for years and it's just now paying off.. he is a terrible x's and o's coach and has 5 maybe 6 nba guys running around for him to win.. and it's like he hasn't had 3 to 4 nba guys on his team EVERY SEASON and he still lost..

Everyone wants to annoint Calipari as a great coach, a great coach would have absolutely dominated with this squad, they would have gone undefeated. Calipari is a great recruiter/payer he wins because of talent. He got outcoached by Bill Self both times in the championship game, this time the talent was too good to completely choke it away at the end. Also he sucked dog$#@! in the NBA

This. Did anyone watch Kentucky in their half-court sets? They did absolutely nothing but stand around. You could tell they had very few set plays. It was mainly players playing one on one and taking advantage of their superior talent. They depend on scoring on the break so much because their half-court game is atrocious.

This. The rule from the NBA is that you have to be at least one year out of High School to go into the draft. So guys go to college for a year.

If the NCAA really wanted to do something, they'd make a rule that says if you accept a scolly you have to stick around for at least 3 years or something. But they wont, because they're whores to players like Anthony Davis - even for only 1 year.

To the anonymous neg repper, why am I a $#@! for posting this? or is that your username?

It keeps high schoolers out of the draft, forcing elite 18 yr olds to prove that they're better than high end college players. While others will realize in that year that they aren't as good as they think when not playing against 5'10" white teenagers, and will stay in college longer (or, at the very least, NBA teams will have a year of relevant scouting tape, and we don't have to see Kwame 2.0).

Plus, we only have to pretend that the top guys care about going to class for one semester rather than the 6+ semesters the Maurice Claibornes of the world skate through.

I don't hate the guy b/c he's good. I hate the guy (to the extent that I can hate anyone that I don't know and isn't a homicidal maniac) b/c he appears to have zero integrity.

I would quit watching/rooting for Texas hoops the second he got hired, and I'm about as hard core a texas hoops fan as there is.

Integrity is every bit as important to me as winning. I see Calhoun or Calipari win and I"m not jealous. Some folks win with integrity (coach K's, bob knights- though he's a $#@!- Dean Smith, Roy Williams- I think Bill Self) and I'm jealous of them. As the slime takes over though, more and more I'm just happy for anyone who seems to run a clean program to win- be it Duke, Carolina whoever. I hate that the last 4 major titles have been won by Satan err Saban, a bought and paid for Cam Newton, Calipari and Calhoun. That's a disturbing trend for people who value integrity in the NCAA.

Without those ideals it's just minor league sports, and I'm not a minor league sport kind of guy.

I don't want to spread bad rumors but it's a message board so $#@! it. FWIW there are plenty of rumors that Self is dirty. There is a reason that Weber couldn't taste similar success at UI, and a reason why no one wants that job. The Chicago recruiting scene is largely dirty as the rumor goes, and Weber wasn't willing to sell his integrity in order to get in there and mix it up.

Honestly I think those who don't bend the rules are the minority when it comes to perennial Top 25 teams. I don't believe K or Roy Williams do for a second. They don't have to. From what I know, the Big Ten is largely clean, and most of the Big Twelve and ACC are, as well. Big East and SEC are pretty shady. No links, no stories, just things I've read over the years so absolutely take it FWIW, grain of salt, whatever.

I don't want to spread bad rumors but it's a message board so $#@! it. FWIW there are plenty of rumors that Self is dirty. There is a reason that Weber couldn't taste similar success at UI, and a reason why no one wants that job. The Chicago recruiting scene is largely dirty as the rumor goes, and Weber wasn't willing to sell his integrity in order to get in there and mix it up.

There might be something to that. Developer Doug Compton, whose company, First Management, totally $#@!s every student on deposits, has been really goddamn close to the program since the mid-80s. He married into a lot of money back then, and ended up driving both Larry Brown and Bill Self in their NC parades. I think Brown lives with him right now. Dude's the most hated man in town.

Derka, I used the term "ape$#@!" because you are clearly incapable of engaging in a discussion without first dropping the neg rep bombs. You're like a 2 year old.

Dude, what the $#@! are you talking about here? First, drop this whole "I'm intellectual" act you've been force feeding everyone here forever. No one is buying it. Now, you want to talk about a 2 year old? Rockp, I neg rep people all the time, not just you. When people say dumb $#@!, I neg rep them. When people say $#@! I agree with, I pos rep them. You are the only one who insists on posting about the neg rep every single time. Literally, every single time. And then, you immediately neg rep me right back, so there goes your indignation at us plebeians who have the gall to use the neg rep feature. Seriously man, you are the only one who has to come out here and post about it. That's why you're $#@!ing clown shoes, and the only person who actually takes you seriously. There are tons of conversations going on all over this board, many of which i'm engaged in, even without *gasp* "dropping the neg rep bomb". So stop wasting everyone's $#@!ing time and bandwidth, and either post anything of substance, or GTFO.

First you cry about me not signing my neg rep and then neg rep me without signing it, and then you cry about me neg repping you, and neg rep me back. But despite the fact that you constantly neg rep me, I don't come runnning out here to cry about it because guess what: Neg rep happens. ALl of the time. Stop being such a pussy about, grow some nuts, and either HAVE A $#@!ING OPINION AND PROVIDE SOME ANALYSIS or stop being vague, cryptic, and never really taking a stance on anything, only really posting to tell others how superior you are, and that you would add some insight but, well, you're far too educated to waste your knowledge on the denizens of morans we have around here.